Turning Our Region into Europe’s New Silicon Valley
Central and Eastern Europe could become the driving force behind the European Union’s competitiveness turnaround, enabling the region, through joint efforts, to emerge as Europe’s new Silicon Valley – emphasized Balázs Hankó, Minister for Culture and Innovation, in a video message shown on 11th September 2025 at the “CONNEXIONS – CEE Deep Tech Summit” conference held at the Bálna Defense Center in Budapest.
Hungary and the countries of the Central and Eastern European region have strong scientific traditions and a broad base of talent, so strengthening the startup ecosystem based on scientific and technical breakthroughs (known as Deep Tech) could be a breakthrough for these countries, significantly increasing the region’s economic competitiveness.
The aim of the CONNEXIONS – CEE Deep Tech Summit conference, held as part of this year’s Hungarian Innovation Week, is to strengthen the visibility of the Hungarian and, more broadly, the Central and Eastern European Deep Tech ecosystem at an international level, showcase its strengths, and seek solutions to identified challenges.
The conference will bring international experts in the field of Deep Tech to Budapest: investors, specialists in technology transfer from universities and research institutes, successful Deep Tech founders, leading researchers, and representatives from the public sector.
This year’s event will focus on life sciences (biotech and medtech), space technology, and defense and (cyber) security.
The program offers inspiring presentations, roundtable discussions, international participants, and networking opportunities for attendees.
The CONNEXIONS – CEE Deep Tech Summit is the key event of the Hungarian Innovation Week, organized by NIÜ, the Hungarian Innovation Agency. Taking place between September 10–19 2025, this series of events will bring together innovation-focused events organized in Hungary. By aligning these programs under a shared framework, the initiative aims to strengthen and raise the international visibility of Hungary’s innovation ecosystem.
